Saturday, January 24, 2015

Snail Running in Austin (Shell Yeah!)

I wanted to write an update on my current half-marathon training cycle. I’m undecided on how to update this blog more regularly, but I’m not interested in closing it down. How to write a running blog when I barely have time to run? Maybe when I answer that question I’ll write a post about it!

Anyway, the 87-mile Project is keeping me inspired to get some miles, any miles, under my running shoes. I’ve been running 2 miles every 2-3 days, and I even ran 3 miles yesterday! Miracle of miracles! And most of those miles? Are hard. They feel very hard to me. I am not in good running shape, but I’m proud of myself for returning to running. I am on the Snail Running Team, but really, it’s better to run slow miles than to not run at all. Really truly.

I’ve made a few observations about my return to running and this current training cycle. In bullet-point fashion:

* Even when the miles are hard to run, I still feel really good after I run them. This fact keeps me going and makes me excited to continue my running.

* Yesterday, I ran 3 miles by warming up, running 2 miles, then walking for 5 minutes and running another mile. What was great is that my third mile felt so much easier than the first two. This, I think, is my reward for pushing myself to do a slightly longer run. The miles do get easier, so eventually I know that a 2-mile run will feel easy and refreshing, not hard and kinda demoralizing like it is now. (Note: I know that sounds really negative, and not all of my runs are demoralizing. I’d be lying if I tried to paint this situation as all or nothing.)

* Austin is a really tough place to train. There are hills in every direction from my house, so I have no choice but to run up and down hills if I want to run outside in one direction for more than 200 meters. I think the hills are part of what makes me feel so out of shape. It’s not just that I’m out of running shape, but that in trying to get back into running shape, I have to do it on really challenging terrain. I trust that the hills will get easier with time and dedication, but damn! So demoralizing!

* I’m getting better at working running time into my crazy freelancer’s schedule. My days typically have a chunk of time in the early or late afternoon when I can run after lunch and before I have to leave for my evening sessions. I’m really proud of myself for taking more control over my time and doing what I want to do. This is a big accomplishment for me. I’m also learning to trust that my tutoring schedule will always be an evolving process—it’s up to me to make sure I’m honoring my commitments to my health and happiness.

And on that note, I’m going to head out for an evening walk before the sun is gone for the evening. Happy Saturday, friends!